How highly would you recommend eating low carb?

[crystal]

I haven't tried Greek yogurt and blueberries for breakfast. I'm going to give it a go. Thanks.

 

[donnellysdogs]

Hba1c may well be bang on target but on a pump you should be able to stop such swings between 3-13 as these swings can also cause problems.... I try to keep my 90 day readings on my pump at about 6.8 (as my pump meter is always reading higher than the hba1c's), and to keep my SD-standard deviations between 1.4 and 2.8 (i was told to try and keep SD less than 3.0).
I only achieve this with my lower carbs. I test 10 times a day. In December when I binge on carbs I do not get this control unless I switch my pump to a tbr of 250%!! Thats the difference what carbs make to my insulin levels...obviously when I binge then my bolus goes up automatically.. But as I run on a 40/60% ratio then this would put my ratio's out totally and thats why I increase my basals so much. Christmas Carbs could totally screw me up otherwise...

 

[equipoise]

As the saying goes..................''don't knock it until you've tried it.''

Meditation is good for the mind I'm sure, you don't see many angry Buddhist Priests put it that way

Plenty of very angry and aggressive Buddhist monks in Burma at the moment....

 

[crystal]

Which pump are you using? Mine doesn't do 90 day readings or SDs!

 

[Deleted member 83869]

Crystal I'm the one donnellysdog is on about yes she is right my levels spiked yesterday when I had porridge despite calculating the correct carbs but today with Greek yoghurt and blueberries, no spike at all! Like magic and SO Tasty!! X

 

[Deleted member 83869]

Crystal I'm the one donnellysdog is on about yes she is right my levels spiked yesterday when I had porridge despite calculating the correct carbs but today with Greek yoghurt and blueberries, no spike at all! Like magic and SO Tasty!! X

 

[crystal]

I always spike with porridge despite calculating the carbs and using a combo bolus. Did you bolus any insulin with the yogurt and blueberries?

 

[Totto]

I would like to introduce a new point of view ie. I have Type 1, have an HbA1C bang on target, have never been overweight, but have been under weight a couple of times, and excercise a lot. I am on a pump. My problem is that I have an extreme sensitivity to insulin, take very small doses and have very little leeway when making dose adjustments. It's not unusual for my BG readings to fluctuate between 3 and 13 or more in a typical day, despite taking a lot of trouble to weigh out my food and calculate the CHO. I often feel a bit groggy. My consultant admits that excercise does not improve control in Type 1, but still recommends it as a safeguard against cardiovascular disease. He calls me a borderline brittle diabetic, due to the small daily insulin requirement. I have been wondering whether going lower carb might help, ( I eat about 120-150g a day ), but am struck by the fact that low carbers are pleased with the amount of weight they have lost. I would not wish to lose more than 1Kg, if that. I hate fatty food, it gives me indigestion and makes me feel sick, if I can manage to eat any at all.
If anyone has any suggestions at all, I would be vey grateful.

Have you tried pancreatic enzyme? It just might be that your pancreas doesn't produce the required amount of them to metabolise fats. This is my suggestion.

 

[Spiker]

@crystal it is primarily T2s or sometimes the larger T1s (like me) who emphasise the weight loss. Weight loss is easy to prevent and easy to reverse - add some carbs. Weight gain on the other hand is notoriously hard to prevent and reverse in the general population as well as in diabetics.

 

[Spiker]

@crystal, DD makes a very good point about variation. Medics tend to look at Hba1c but not so much variation. One without the other is less than half the picture. You would likely be better on Hba1c of 7.5% and a 6-10 range than 6.5% and your 3-13 range. Even ignoring the hypo risk, the long term damage is much greater with swinging BG.

Any pump or almost any meter can be downloaded into software that will calculate your SD.

You do have a challenge for LCHF in having such high insulin sensitivity and low doses. What is the minimum delivert on your pump? .1u or .05u? Ten times finer tuning than pens (MDI) but honestly for you, lower carb doses could be a problem to dose for. You may end up relying more on basal, a somewhat Old School approach.

Dare I suggest cutting down on exercise, as that will be increasing your insulin sensitivity and also creating more frequent and bigger swings. I would never normally suggest that but you are unusual.

Low carb *might* help with your difficulties, but honestly it might not. But if you want to try it, we here will support you.

 

[robert72]

@crystal - I have been on 30g carbs a day for the last year and have kept my weight at 67 kilos. My bmi is 20.6 and I don't want to lose any weight so I make sure I get enough calories from fat. My BGs stay between 4 and 8 - daily average for last 30 days is 6.0 (deviation 1.6). Last HbA1c was 5.6

 

[bellabella]

I would like to introduce a new point of view ie. I have Type 1, have an HbA1C bang on target, have never been overweight, but have been under weight a couple of times, and excercise a lot. I am on a pump. My problem is that I have an extreme sensitivity to insulin, take very small doses and have very little leeway when making dose adjustments. It's not unusual for my BG readings to fluctuate between 3 and 13 or more in a typical day, despite taking a lot of trouble to weigh out my food and calculate the CHO. I often feel a bit groggy. My consultant admits that excercise does not improve control in Type 1, but still recommends it as a safeguard against cardiovascular disease. He calls me a borderline brittle diabetic, due to the small daily insulin requirement. I have been wondering whether going lower carb might help, ( I eat about 120-150g a day ), but am struck by the fact that low carbers are pleased with the amount of weight they have lost. I would not wish to lose more than 1Kg, if that. I hate fatty food, it gives me indigestion and makes me feel sick, if I can manage to eat any at all.
If anyone has any suggestions at all, I would be vey grateful.

Just a thought: have you ever been tested for MODY? This type is typically associated with the need for very small amounts of insulin, and some patients can sometimes be controlled on oral agents such as sulfonylureas?

 

[crystal]

@Spiker. What you say makes sense Spiker. I will have to have a re-think about all this. I shall be switching to the new Accu-Chek Insight pump in January. Perhaps I will wait and see whether I can fine-tune my control better with the new pump.

 

[crystal]

@bellabella. No it's definitely not MODY. I was diagnosed with classic Type 1, complete with very high auto antibody titres, at age 40.

 

[Spiker]

@bellabella. No it's definitely not MODY. I was diagnosed with classic Type 1, complete with very high auto antibody titres, at age 40.

Brittle LADA then?

Not that it matters hugely what the subtype is.

 

[forge]

This is the question and subject of this thread.
How highly would you recommend eating low carb

Firstly I rate the options then see where I the person fits in then I recommend low carb very highly or not so highly

This is my ratings for a diabetic T2 of average dedication/determination for “sustainability” (being able to stick with a diet for 1 year)

100 = Eat what you like and how much you like when-ever you like

60 = Low carb with extra veg 3 meals and snacks

15 = Low carb with high fat

If someone has lots of will power and no wont power then they should have meds prescribed and there is no point in recommending eating low carb.

 

[robert72]

This is the question and subject of this thread.
How highly would you recommend eating low carb

Yeah, but it's in the Type 1 section

 

[Spiker]

This is the question and subject of this thread.
How highly would you recommend eating low carb

Firstly I rate the options then see where I the person fits in then I recommend low carb very highly or not so highly

This is my ratings for a diabetic T2 of average dedication/determination for “sustainability” (being able to stick with a diet for 1 year)

100 = Eat what you like and how much you like when-ever you like

60 = Low carb with extra veg 3 meals and snacks

15 = Low carb with high fat

If someone has lots of will power and no wont power then they should have meds prescribed and there is no point in recommending eating low carb.

Hi @forge!

Welcome back and I am impressed that this is bang on topic.

I would very strongly suggest that you have got the bottom two in the wrong order, probably because you have no personal experience of high fat diets. The reality is that the Low Carb High Fat is much easier to sustain and maintain than "low carb with (anything else)". We're talking about apples are apples and low carb is low carb and so your options two and three have the same actual amount of carbs, right? No sneaking carbs in via the "veg and snacks"? In which case your middle option is making up the cals, with protein, which turn to carbs, which require insulin (whether you are T2 or T1 or T-Not Diabetic), which stimulates hunger and the cycle of eat-hungry-eat. Whereas the high fat causes satiety and you leave your plate unfinished, don't glance at the fridge or the snack cupboard as you head for the sofa for a nice relax after your high calorie, low carb meal.

For equal carbs, LCHF is easier to maintain and tolerate than LC-Anything else.

 

[Spiker]

Hi @forge!
Welcome back and I am impressed that this is bang on topic.

Actually @robert72 has a point, it's not quite that on topic since we're in Type 1-Land here .

I'm rolling with it though... anyone else offended? ;-)

 

[robert72]

Actually @robert72 has a point, it's not quite that on topic since we're in Type 1-Land here .

I'm rolling with it though... anyone else offended? ;-)

didn't @forge start his own thread?